May 27 – On This Day in Medical History

What happened on May 27? Explore notable medical events, breakthroughs, births and deaths from across history in LITFL’s On This Day (OTD)

Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with May 27.

Events

No major medical milestones added for this date yet — this page is being expanded


Births

1818Franciscus Cornelis Donders (1818-1889), Dutch ophthalmologist; described Donders Law (1847), the Space of Donders (1867), Mental Chronometry (Donders Subtraction Method), and invented the Donders Ophthalmotrope (1845)

1870Pierre Le Damany (1870–1963), French physician; described Signe de Le Damany (1912)

1873Fernand Léon Cathelin (1873-1960), French urologist; described Cathelin’s method (Caudal epidural anaesthesia) (1901). Invented the Cystoscope à air and Diviseur vésical


Deaths

1842 Thomas Spens (1763-1842), Scottish physician; published the first account in the English literature of Stokes-Adams syndrome


Further reading

BA MA (Oxon) MBChB (Edin) FACEM FFSEM. Emergency physician, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Passion for rugby; medical history; medical education; and asynchronous learning #FOAMed evangelist. Co-founder and CTO of Life in the Fast lane | On Call: Principles and Protocol 4e| Eponyms | Books |